Turkey&#39;s army is lifting a historic ban on female officers wearing the Islamic headscarf - hijab, state-run Anadolu news agency said.

The move, ordered by the defence ministry, applies to female officers working in the general staff and command headquarters and branches.

Women may wear the headscarf underneath their cap or beret so long as it is the same colour as their uniform and does not cover their faces.

The reform will come into force once it is published in the official gazette. It was not immediately clear if it applied to women on combat missions. It will also apply to female cadets.

The ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) co-founded by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long pressed for the removal of restrictions on women wearing the headscarf.

Turkey lifted a ban on the wearing of the Muslim headscarf, known as the hijab, on university campuses in 2010.&nbsp;It allowed female students to wear the headscarf in state institutions from 2013 and in high school in 2014.

And in the latest key reform before the army&#39;s move, Turkey in August for the first time allowed policewomen to wear the Islamic headscarf as part of their uniform.&nbsp;

(AFP) 
&nbsp;

It was not immediately clear if it applied to women on combat missions. It will also apply to female cadets.

Turkey's army is lifting a historic ban on female officers wearing the Islamic headscarf - hijab, state-run Anadolu news agency said. The move, ordered by the defence ministry, applies to female officers working in the general staff and command headquarters and branches. Women may wear the headscarf underneath their cap or beret so long as it is the same colour as their uniform and does not cover their faces. The reform will come into force once it is published in the official gazette. It was not immediately clear if it applied to women on combat missions. It will also apply to female cadets. The ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) co-founded by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long pressed for the removal of restrictions on women wearing the headscarf. Turkey lifted a ban on the wearing of the Muslim headscarf, known as the hijab, on university campuses in 2010. It allowed female students to wear the headscarf in state institutions from 2013 and in high school in 2014. And in the latest key reform before the army's move, Turkey in August for the first time allowed policewomen to wear the Islamic headscarf as part of their uniform. (AFP)

Turkish army to lift ban on headscarf for female officers

Morocco has banned the production and sale of full-face Islamic veils, citing security reasons, media reports said on Tuesday.

There has been no official announcement but the reports say the ban comes into effect from this week.

&quot;We have taken the step of completely banning the import, manufacture and marketing of this garment in all the cities and towns of the kingdom,&quot; the Le360 news site quoted a high-ranking interior ministry official as saying.

Security concerns prompted the decision &quot;since bandits have repeatedly used this garment to perpetrate their crimes,&quot; reports stated.

Most women in Morocco, whose King Mohammed VI favours a moderate version of Islam, prefer the hijab headscarf that does not cover the face, AFP said.

The burqa, which leaves the area around the eyes uncovered, is also worn in in more conservative regions in the north.

The Media 24 website reported that the interior ministry officials conducted awareness campaigns in some commercial districts of Casablanca to &quot;inform them of this new decision&quot; on Monday.

Reports also said that authorities have directed traders in Taroudant in southern Morocco to stop making and selling burqas and to liquidate their stock within 48 hours. Similar instructions were given to retailers in the northern town of Ouislane.

It is illegal to wear full veils in public in France and Belgium. It is unclear whether Morocco plans to follow suit.

&quot;Is Morocco moving towards banning the niqab that Muslim women have worn for five centuries?&quot; Salafist sheikh Hassan Kettani wrote on Facebook.

&quot;If true it would be a disaster,&quot; he added.

(With inputs from AFP)

Security concerns have prompted the decision 'since bandits have repeatedly used this garment to perpetrate their crimes'

Morocco has banned the production and sale of full-face Islamic veils, citing security reasons, media reports said on Tuesday. There has been no official announcement but the reports say the ban comes into effect from this week. "We have taken the step of completely banning the import, manufacture and marketing of this garment in all the cities and towns of the kingdom," the Le360 news site quoted a high-ranking interior ministry official as saying. Security concerns prompted the decision "since bandits have repeatedly used this garment to perpetrate their crimes," reports stated. Most women in Morocco, whose King Mohammed VI favours a moderate version of Islam, prefer the hijab headscarf that does not cover the face, AFP said. The burqa, which leaves the area around the eyes uncovered, is also worn in in more conservative regions in the north. The Media 24 website reported that the interior ministry officials conducted awareness campaigns in some commercial districts of Casablanca to "inform them of this new decision" on Monday. Reports also said that authorities have directed traders in Taroudant in southern Morocco to stop making and selling burqas and to liquidate their stock within 48 hours. Similar instructions were given to retailers in the northern town of Ouislane. It is illegal to wear full veils in public in France and Belgium. It is unclear whether Morocco plans to follow suit. "Is Morocco moving towards banning the niqab that Muslim women have worn for five centuries?" Salafist sheikh Hassan Kettani wrote on Facebook. "If true it would be a disaster," he added. (With inputs from AFP)

Morocco bans production and sale of burqas: Reports

A hijab-clad woman was allegedly accosted at a US store by another customer who called her a &quot;terrorist&quot; and told her to &quot;get out&quot; of the country, the latest in a series of hate incidents in which headscarf- wearing women have been targeted following Donald Trump&#39;s win.

The incident happened at Smith&#39;s store in Albuquerque, New Mexico, CBS-affiliate KRQE television reported.

&quot;I went down the aisle to go get sodas and then all of a sudden I hear somebody starting to yell at her (the hijab-clad woman),&quot; Barney Lopez, an eyewitness, was quoted as saying.

&quot;And...Saying things like &#39;Get out of our country, you don&#39;t belong here, you&#39;re a terrorist!&#39;&quot; he said.

At that point, Lopez said, practically everyone in the store stopped what they were doing and ran to the defence of the woman in hijab.

Lopez snapped a picture, albeit a bit shaky, of the person screaming at the woman in the hijab. The lady was wearing a hat and sunglasses. A Smith&#39;s employee appeared to stand in the way to keep her back.

&quot;There was even another woman that like went over to the woman in the hijab and put her arm around her and gave her hug and held her while the Smith&#39;s employees came,&quot; Barney said.

Employees shuffled the shouting lady out of the store, but Lopez said the screaming woman waited in the parking lot for the woman in the hijab to come out.

&quot;So all the Smith&#39;s employees gathered around this woman and escorted her to her car and helped her load her groceries,&quot; he recalled.

Lopez said while the incident was initially shocking and upsetting, he ultimately left the store feeling uplifted.

The US TV station called Smith&#39;s to enquire about Wednesday&#39;s incident and a manager confirmed what happened.

The manager called the woman in the hijab &quot;strong&quot; in the face of the verbal attack.

The Smith&#39;s manager also said the woman in the hijab came back to the store later in the day to thank the employees.

Police were called and reportedly got to the store after the yelling woman had left.

The incident comes amid a slew of intimidation and assault cases that have been reported across the country against hijab-clad women post-election.

Earlier this month, a Muslim student&#39;s hijab was allegedly ripped off and her hair pulled down by a classmate at a school in Minnesota.

Also, a Muslim student of Michigan University was approached by an unidentified man who yelled at her and threatened to set her on fire if she did not remove her hijab, prompting police to probe the hate crime incident.

A Muslim high-school teacher in Georgia was also told to hang herself with her headscarf in a handwritten anonymous note she received in her classroom.

(PTI)

The incident happened at Smith's store in Albuquerque, New Mexico, CBS-affiliate KRQE television reported

A hijab-clad woman was allegedly accosted at a US store by another customer who called her a "terrorist" and told her to "get out" of the country, the latest in a series of hate incidents in which headscarf- wearing women have been targeted following Donald Trump's win. The incident happened at Smith's store in Albuquerque, New Mexico, CBS-affiliate KRQE television reported. "I went down the aisle to go get sodas and then all of a sudden I hear somebody starting to yell at her (the hijab-clad woman)," Barney Lopez, an eyewitness, was quoted as saying. "And...Saying things like 'Get out of our country, you don't belong here, you're a terrorist!'" he said. At that point, Lopez said, practically everyone in the store stopped what they were doing and ran to the defence of the woman in hijab. Lopez snapped a picture, albeit a bit shaky, of the person screaming at the woman in the hijab. The lady was wearing a hat and sunglasses. A Smith's employee appeared to stand in the way to keep her back. "There was even another woman that like went over to the woman in the hijab and put her arm around her and gave her hug and held her while the Smith's employees came," Barney said. Employees shuffled the shouting lady out of the store, but Lopez said the screaming woman waited in the parking lot for the woman in the hijab to come out. "So all the Smith's employees gathered around this woman and escorted her to her car and helped her load her groceries," he recalled. Lopez said while the incident was initially shocking and upsetting, he ultimately left the store feeling uplifted. The US TV station called Smith's to enquire about Wednesday's incident and a manager confirmed what happened. The manager called the woman in the hijab "strong" in the face of the verbal attack. The Smith's manager also said the woman in the hijab came back to the store later in the day to thank the employees. Police were called and reportedly got to the store after the yelling woman had left. The incident comes amid a slew of intimidation and assault cases that have been reported across the country against hijab-clad women post-election. Earlier this month, a Muslim student's hijab was allegedly ripped off and her hair pulled down by a classmate at a school in Minnesota. Also, a Muslim student of Michigan University was approached by an unidentified man who yelled at her and threatened to set her on fire if she did not remove her hijab, prompting police to probe the hate crime incident. A Muslim high-school teacher in Georgia was also told to hang herself with her headscarf in a handwritten anonymous note she received in her classroom. (PTI)

Hijab-clad woman accosted, called 'terrorist' at US store

Three women were asked to deplane and questioned on the tarmac by police&nbsp;officers over allegations that they were Islamic State supporters. 
 
The three siblings - Maryam Dharas, 19, Sakina Dharas, 24, and Ali Dharas, 21&nbsp;- had boarded the flight from Stansted to Naples. 
 
The women, residents of north-west London, were interrogated for an hour by&nbsp;the police. 
 
Maryam later said that they were subjected to racial profiling. 
 
Before letting them go, Sakina was told that further background checks would&nbsp;be conducted. 
 
Maryam also said that she needed an apology. 
 
The airline insisted that security concerns had to be investigated, while the&nbsp;police offered no apology. 
 
The Dharas siblings, who are of Indian ethnic origin, were asked if they had&nbsp;Arabic text on their phones or copies of the Quran. 
 
A couple on the plane had reported that the sister were reading some Islamic&nbsp;State material on their phones.&nbsp; 
 
Sakina had a passport stamp from a visit to Iraq, where she had participated in a&nbsp;walk to raise funds for IS victims. 
 
The officers also asked Maryam to show her Twitter posts. 
 
(WION)

The three siblings said that they were made victims of racial profiling and demanded an apology

Three women were asked to deplane and questioned on the tarmac by police officers over allegations that they were Islamic State supporters. The three siblings - Maryam Dharas, 19, Sakina Dharas, 24, and Ali Dharas, 21 - had boarded the flight from Stansted to Naples. The women, residents of north-west London, were interrogated for an hour by the police. Maryam later said that they were subjected to racial profiling. Before letting them go, Sakina was told that further background checks would be conducted. Maryam also said that she needed an apology. The airline insisted that security concerns had to be investigated, while the police offered no apology. The Dharas siblings, who are of Indian ethnic origin, were asked if they had Arabic text on their phones or copies of the Quran. A couple on the plane had reported that the sister were reading some Islamic State material on their phones. Sakina had a passport stamp from a visit to Iraq, where she had participated in a walk to raise funds for IS victims. The officers also asked Maryam to show her Twitter posts. (WION)

Trio asked to deplane in London suspecting IS links

Fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad is aiming to drive her sabre through bigotry when she becomes the first American athlete to compete at the Olympics wearing a hijab. 
 
The articulate 30-year-old African-American Muslim was catapulted to prominence in January after clinching her place on the US Olympic team at the World Cup in Greece. 
 
Muhammad&#39;s participation in Rio comes in the midst of a US presidential election campaign marked by anti-Islamic rhetoric while incidents of threats and vandalism at mosques reached an all-time high last year. 
 
The ugly atmosphere is all-too familiar for Muhammad, who has faced discrimination since childhood, when her skin color and hijab would often draw stares or abuse. 
 
Indeed, part of the attraction of fencing was the fact that Muhammad could blend in more or less seamlessly. 
 
&quot;I played different sports growing up and my mum and I just happened to be driving past a high school and saw fencing from the car window,&quot; she recalled.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;She saw that the athletes had on long tops and long pants and she didn`t know what the sport was but she wanted me to try it because she thought it would be accommodating for my religious beliefs.&quot; 
 
Muhammad was unconvinced at first but persisted when she realized the sport could be a passport to a college education. 
 
&quot;I saw that the top 10 schools in the country all had fencing programs so I saw fencing as a way for me to get to school so that&#39;s why I stuck at it initially,&quot; said Muhammad, who graduated from prestigious Duke University in 2007 with a degree in International Relations and African Studies. 
 
Muhammad hopes that her Olympic journey may play a small role in shifting the kinds of attitudes that have surfaced during the US election campaign. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s a tough political environment that we&#39;re in right now, it&#39;s not easy,&quot; Muhammad said.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Muslims are under the microscope and I&#39;m hoping to change the image that people may have of Muslim women. 
 
&quot;I know that Muslim women are very, very diverse, especially here in the United States. We come in all different shapes, colors and sizes and we come from different backgrounds and are productive members of society. I want people to see that.&quot; 
 
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has been accused of fueling anti-Islamic sentiment, pointedly calling for Muslims to be prevented from entering the United States in December last year. 
 
Muhammad diplomatically declined to speculate on what life for American Muslims might be like if Trump is elected to the White House in November. 
 
&quot;I hate to talk about what ifs,&quot; she said. &quot;I&#39;m hoping we can change direction a little bit and see Muslims in more of a positive light and try to combat the negative imagery that we are shown every day. Can I influence the debate? I don&#39;t know. I&#39;m just trying to do well in Rio&#39;&#39;. 
 
The toxic climate has brought practical concerns. After several stories involving Muslims being barred from boarding planes, Muhammad revealed she had harbored fears of suffering a similar fate during qualifiers for Rio. 
 
&quot;When Muslims were being kicked off flights in the middle of Olympic qualifiers that was a real worry, am I going to be allowed to board my flight to make it to my Olympic qualifier?&quot; 
 
The fact that she is expected to speak about weighty issues relating to her race, religion and gender rather than merely her sport does sometimes take its toll, Muhammad acknowledged. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s something I struggle with every day. But ultimately I feel incredibly blessed to have been given this platform. And when I think of my predecessors and people who have spoken out against bigotry and hate, I feel like I owe it not just to myself but to my community to try to fight it,&quot; she said. 
 
&quot;You have to not just think about yourself, but everyone. And there are people in America right now who don&#39;t feel safe going to work every day, who don&#39;t feel safe in their community. That&#39;s a problem. 
 
&quot;I remember being a kid and people telling me I didn&#39;t belong in my sport because of my skin color, because I was Muslim. So if I can be a source of change for other minorities I feel fortunate to be able to do that.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

Fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad participation in Rio comes in the midst of a US presidential election campaign marked by anti-Islamic rhetoric

Fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad is aiming to drive her sabre through bigotry when she becomes the first American athlete to compete at the Olympics wearing a hijab. The articulate 30-year-old African-American Muslim was catapulted to prominence in January after clinching her place on the US Olympic team at the World Cup in Greece. Muhammad's participation in Rio comes in the midst of a US presidential election campaign marked by anti-Islamic rhetoric while incidents of threats and vandalism at mosques reached an all-time high last year. The ugly atmosphere is all-too familiar for Muhammad, who has faced discrimination since childhood, when her skin color and hijab would often draw stares or abuse. Indeed, part of the attraction of fencing was the fact that Muhammad could blend in more or less seamlessly. "I played different sports growing up and my mum and I just happened to be driving past a high school and saw fencing from the car window," she recalled. "She saw that the athletes had on long tops and long pants and she didn`t know what the sport was but she wanted me to try it because she thought it would be accommodating for my religious beliefs." Muhammad was unconvinced at first but persisted when she realized the sport could be a passport to a college education. "I saw that the top 10 schools in the country all had fencing programs so I saw fencing as a way for me to get to school so that's why I stuck at it initially," said Muhammad, who graduated from prestigious Duke University in 2007 with a degree in International Relations and African Studies. Muhammad hopes that her Olympic journey may play a small role in shifting the kinds of attitudes that have surfaced during the US election campaign. "It's a tough political environment that we're in right now, it's not easy," Muhammad said. "Muslims are under the microscope and I'm hoping to change the image that people may have of Muslim women. "I know that Muslim women are very, very diverse, especially here in the United States. We come in all different shapes, colors and sizes and we come from different backgrounds and are productive members of society. I want people to see that." Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has been accused of fueling anti-Islamic sentiment, pointedly calling for Muslims to be prevented from entering the United States in December last year. Muhammad diplomatically declined to speculate on what life for American Muslims might be like if Trump is elected to the White House in November. "I hate to talk about what ifs," she said. "I'm hoping we can change direction a little bit and see Muslims in more of a positive light and try to combat the negative imagery that we are shown every day. Can I influence the debate? I don't know. I'm just trying to do well in Rio''. The toxic climate has brought practical concerns. After several stories involving Muslims being barred from boarding planes, Muhammad revealed she had harbored fears of suffering a similar fate during qualifiers for Rio. "When Muslims were being kicked off flights in the middle of Olympic qualifiers that was a real worry, am I going to be allowed to board my flight to make it to my Olympic qualifier?" The fact that she is expected to speak about weighty issues relating to her race, religion and gender rather than merely her sport does sometimes take its toll, Muhammad acknowledged. "It's something I struggle with every day. But ultimately I feel incredibly blessed to have been given this platform. And when I think of my predecessors and people who have spoken out against bigotry and hate, I feel like I owe it not just to myself but to my community to try to fight it," she said. "You have to not just think about yourself, but everyone. And there are people in America right now who don't feel safe going to work every day, who don't feel safe in their community. That's a problem. "I remember being a kid and people telling me I didn't belong in my sport because of my skin color, because I was Muslim. So if I can be a source of change for other minorities I feel fortunate to be able to do that." (AFP)

American athlete to compete at the Olympics wearing a hijab

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